Changes between Version 2 and Version 3 of FAQ
- Timestamp:
- 01/21/06 16:47:23 (16 years ago)
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FAQ
v2 v3 1 [[PageOutline(1-3)]] 1 2 = General FAQ = 2 3 3 General questions about the Wifidog Captive Portal 4 4 5 Q: What is Wifidog ? 5 == Q: What is Wifidog ? == 6 6 A: Wifidog is software used to create wireless hotspots. It is a next-generation alternative to [http://nocat.net/ NoCat]. 7 7 8 Q: Who makes Wifidog ? 8 == Q: Who makes Wifidog ? == 9 9 A: The technical team of [http://www.ilesansfil.org Île Sans Fil] created and maintains Wifidog. 10 10 11 Q: Who can use Wifidog ? 11 == Q: Who can use Wifidog ? == 12 12 A: On the legal/licensing front, anyone can use Wifidog. It is free software released under the GPL license. 13 13 … … 16 16 If the software ever reaches a point of complete point-and-click ease that we feel average users can safely administer, we will update this document. 17 17 18 Q: Who currently uses Wifidog ? 18 == Q: Who currently uses Wifidog ? == 19 19 A: Please go to the [wiki:Community] page 20 20 21 Q: What can it do ? 21 == Q: What can it do ? == 22 22 A: See the [wiki:Features] page for the feature list. 23 23 24 Q: What is it composed of ? 24 == Q: What is it composed of ? == 25 25 A: It is composed of 2 components: 26 26 1. The client is a daemon process - this gets installed on every wireless router 27 27 2. The auth server is a web application - this gets installed in a central location 28 28 29 Q: What are the main differences between it and !NoCat ? 29 == Q: What are the main differences between it and !NoCat ? == 30 30 A: On the client side, it's smaller, has far fewer dependencies, and runs well on embedded devices. 31 31 On the auth server side, it's more customizable, and is geared towards capitalizing the infrastructure for the purposes of building portals and communities. 32 32 33 Q: How does it work ? 33 == Q: How does it work ? == 34 34 A: The client daemon uses firewall rules to control traffic going through the router. When a new user tries to access a web site, the client will transparently re-direct them to the auth server where they can either log-in or sign-up. The client and the auth server then negotiate what to do with the client and either allow or deny them certain network access. 35 35 … … 38 38 Refer to the Wifidog Flow Diagram document for some more details. 39 39 40 Q: What does it run on ? 40 == Q: What does it run on ? == 41 41 A: The client runs on any Linux machine that has a working netfilter+iptables installation. The auth server runs on any PHP-enabled web server. 42 42 43 Q: Can I write my own client ? 43 == Q: Can I write my own client ? == 44 44 A: Sure, but why ? We've done all the work. The client is written in C and is extremely lightweight so that it runs comfortably in embedded environments such as the Linksys WRT54G router. 45 45 46 46 The client is time-tested and is fairly stable. It is used extensively in Île Sans Fil's [http://auth.ilesansfil.org deployed hotspots]. 47 47 48 Q: Can I write my own auth server ? 48 == Q: Can I write my own auth server ? == 49 49 A: Again, we've done all the work. However our auth server at the time of this writing is not as polished as the client. Feel free to make it better or write your own from scratch. If you go with the later option you'll have to respect the same protocol the client uses for the whole system to work correctly. 50 50 51 Q: What does it look like ? 51 == Q: What does it look like ? == 52 52 A: The client is a daemon process that runs in the background. It looks like zen, chi, the ether, zilch. It has no user interface. 53 53 54 54 The auth server is a web application that can be customized via templates to look however you want it to look. To check out Île Sans Fil's auth server installation see https://auth.ilesansfil.org 55 55 56 Q: Where can I find help ? 56 == Q: Where can I find help ? == 57 57 A: If you've read the documentation, browsed the FAQ, tested a configuration setup (try your best) and you're still experiencing issues with your setup. You can find help by posting your question to the Wifidog mailling listexternal link (make sure you search through the mailing list archiveexternal link before you do so). 58 58 … … 66 66 Questions about the Wifidog client (not embedded) 67 67 68 Q: What do I need ? 68 == Q: What do I need ? == 69 69 A: 70 70 1. Basic proficiency in a Linux environment … … 74 74 5. The latest Wifidog tarball which can be obtained from [http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=102646 SourceForge] 75 75 76 Q: Pre-installation 76 == Q: Pre-installation == 77 77 A: This is where a lot of people run into problems, so let's state this in bold: 78 78 … … 92 92 Do NOT proceed with installing Wifidog until you've satisfied the above. It will not work otherwise and you will waste lots of time. 93 93 94 Q: Installation 94 == Q: Installation == 95 95 A: Wifidog, like many open source projects, is distributed with standard autotools utilities to make installation easy. Unpack the tarball, then follow the standard: 96 96 … … 101 101 }}} 102 102 103 Q: Configuration 103 == Q: Configuration == 104 104 A: Edit /etc/wifidog.conf and follow the instructions in the file. Things should be self-explanatory. 105 105 106 Q: Running Wifidog for the first time 106 == Q: Running Wifidog for the first time == 107 107 A: Run Wifidog with the following switches: 108 108 … … 113 113 }}} 114 114 115 Q: Testing 115 == Q: Testing == 116 116 A: As a client on the !WiFi network (or whatever interface is configured as the LAN interface in /etc/wifidog.conf), open a web browser and try to browse to your favourite web site. 117 117 … … 122 122 Due to the lightness of the Wifidog client it is often installed inside the linksys WRT54G. There are some profound issues that arise with this setup that it warrants its own section in this FAQ. 123 123 124 Q: What do I need ? 124 == Q: What do I need ? == 125 125 A: You will need to have basic/full proficiency in a Linux environment 126 126 … … 129 129 Do not proceed until you've completed the above. We also recommend you spend some time familiarizing yourself with your new router's OS before introducing Wifidog into that environment. This especially includes the nvram settings, network interfaces and existing interface bridges. 130 130 131 Q: Pre-installation 131 == Q: Pre-installation == 132 132 A: The same rules apply as the pre-installation in a non-WRT54G environment above. Do not proceed until you've satisfied them. 133 133 In summary: '''Make sure EVERYTHING works first'''. … … 137 137 Questions about the Wifidog Auth-Server 138 138 139 Q: What are the requirements to run the Auth Server ? 139 == Q: What are the requirements to run the Auth Server ? == 140 140 A: 141 141 … … 150 150 * [http://drewish.com/projects/phlickr/ Phlick API] for Flickr content ( Content management system ) 151 151 152 Q: Can I use MySQL in lieu of PostgreSQL ? 152 == Q: Can I use MySQL in lieu of PostgreSQL ? == 153 153 A: No, but we are looking for a developper committed to maintain the SQL code and port it to MySQL. Since MySQL is less feature rich than PostgreSQL we might have some trouble implementing some advanced stats / BLOB queries ... 154 154 155 Q: The CMS is too complex, I simply want to put some HTML code on the portal page ! 155 == Q: The CMS is too complex, I simply want to put some HTML code on the portal page ! == 156 156 A: We are aware that we will need to provide a better documentation. Although, the answer to this specific question is quite easy. You would simply need to use a "TrivialLangstring" content and drop some HTML code in the textfield and ties this content to the portal page. 157 157 158 Q: Can I extract the hotspot status data in XML format ? 158 == Q: Can I extract the hotspot status data in XML format ? == 159 159 A: Yes, the hotspots status list can be exported to a XML. In fact, the Google Maps mashup part of Wifidog relies on this feature. [http://ilesansfil.org/tiki-index.php?page=HotSpots Île Sans Fil is also using it] to create a specially formatted display on its main website using [http://auth.ilesansfil.org/xslt/wifidog_status.xsl an XSL stylesheet]. 160 160 161 Q: My auth server used to be fast, but now it's slower and slower, even under no load 161 == Q: My auth server used to be fast, but now it's slower and slower, even under no load == 162 162 163 163 A: You have to:
